


Honoris Causa

by kitkatt0430



Series: A Touch of Forgetfulness [8]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Amnesia, Amnesia Recovery, Cisco is recovering from meta induced amnesia, Established Relationship, Hartley's a good husband, M/M, Married Couple, honorary doctorates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27138145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatt0430/pseuds/kitkatt0430
Summary: The paperwork for Cisco's honorary degree has finally arrived.  Cisco's not sure how excited about this he is, but he likes how proud of him Hartley looks.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway
Series: A Touch of Forgetfulness [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1454770
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Honoris Causa

**Author's Note:**

> A little snippet looking into October last year in the Forgetfulness-verse.

Cisco looked at the envelope Hartley had just handed him and promptly dropped it on the counter, feeling startled and edgy and disconnected from it all at once. And he hadn't even opened the damn thing yet.

Very carefully, he slid it back towards Hartley, barely touching the corners. "I can't open that," Cisco insisted. "I can't... I'm not... I still don't feel like that's for me."

Hartley nodded and picked the piece of mail back up. It had Cisco's name on it, addressed to him from his alma mater. Presumably this was about his honorary doctorate, in recognition of work that Cisco could barely remember thanks to his encounter with a teenaged meta with memory wiping abilities just a little over a month earlier.

Grabbing their letter opener out of its plinth (it was a small Master Sword replica from _The Legend of Zelda_ ), Hartley slit the top of the envelope open and removed several folded sheets of paper from within. Setting aside all but the top page, Hartley carefully smoothed the page out in front of him.

"Do you want me to read this out loud?" Hartley asked.

"Y-yes," Cisco answered quickly and Hartley started reading before Cisco could freak out and change his mind.

"Mr. Ramon, I'm pleased to inform you that, after a unanimous vote by the board of trustees, the University of Michigan at Central City is proud to present you with an Honorary Doctorate - denoted h.c. (honoris causa) - in the burgeoning field of Metahuman Studies." Hartley paused a beat, then added, "there's some professional snobbery between PhD versus HC, just to warn you. Honorary PhDs denote the title Doctor Honoris Causa and depending on who you talk to some people will say those with honorary doctorates shouldn't use the honorific doctor."

"So if I want to be called Doctor Ramon without objections from the snooty, I still need to get a PhD the traditional way?" Cisco asked, feeling oddly relieved.

"Basically, yes." Hartley raised an eyebrow. "Talk to me? What's bothering you about this?"

"I don't... I don't know. I don't feel like I've earned this, I guess." Cisco fidgeted uncomfortably. "I don't remember doing any of that research. Getting honored for work I don't remember makes me feel like... I'm taking credit for someone else's work."

"I wish I knew how to help you feel better about that," Hartley sighed, reaching out and offering Cisco his hand over the counter.

Taking Hartley's hand in his own, Cisco blushed when Hartley leaned over to drop a kiss on his knuckles. "Refamiliarizing me with my own work helps a lot and the rest... I guess I just need to discuss this with my therapist." Cisco had weekly sessions with his therapist. He'd seen her before to help him deal with stress and depression about two years ago and the talk therapy had helped him find his footing... not that he remembered any of that. Now she was helping him deal with his stress again but also with the difficulty of loosing so many memories and the frustration he often felt when the memories that slowly trickled back proved more confusing than helpful.

"How are things working out with her?"

"Good?" Cisco shrugged. "Talking to her about how everything makes me feel is... weird and I feel wrung out afterwards, but... it's a good wrung out? If that makes sense."

"It does," Hartley assured him with a smile and a light squeeze to his fingers. "It totally makes sense." Retracting his hand, Hartley returned to the letter. "Anyway, this goes on to say that there's some paperwork you'll need to fill out, the first of which they've enclosed alongside this announcement letter," he tapped the papers he'd set aside, "and of course they'd like to encourage you to return for your actual PhD in Mechanical Engineering in the Spring. Apparently there's an official acceptance letter that should arrive in the next day or so with further paperwork for getting you officially enrolled in their post grad program. You're invited to attend the Graduation Ceremony in December and receive your Honorary Doctorate at that time. They also want you to guest lecture in the Spring."

"Um, what?" Cisco knew he had to look like a deer in the headlights. "Guest lecture?" He squeaked out the words incredulously.

"You don't have to agree to that," Hartley added hastily. "But maybe don't turn them down out of hand either. You've got time before they need an answer to think it over and maybe feel more confident in yourself over this?"

Cisco nodded, wordless. Just... stunned. "Guest lecture," he muttered and shook his head, unable to wrap his brain around the idea. "I do want to get my PhD. I've put it off longer than I intended to when I got my master's degree and... an honorary doctorate is cool, but that's not what I always imagined getting."

"Well you were way more excited about going back for your PhD than about the honorary doctorate before you lost your memories too," Hartley offered uncertainly. "If that helps any?"

Cisco nodded again, emphatically. It was nice to know all the ways he was still more or less the same person now despite what happened to him. "I should take care of that paperwork this afternoon, then, so that I don't put it off until the last minute. Though... I guess I need to figure out what I want to do about grad school before that acceptance letter gets here. I don't want to wait to go back, but..."

"But it might be better to wait until Fall instead of Spring?" Hartley filled in wryly.

"Yeah..."

Hartley leaned over and kissed Cisco's cheek, sending butterflies fluttering through Cisco's stomach. "Do you want to talk it over some while we have lunch? I make an excellent sounding board and you know I'll support whatever decision you make."

Cisco's smile in response was all sappy looking before turning serious. "Thanks. I think my biggest worry is that I won't remember enough of my own work that I'll look like I faked everything..."


End file.
